This was quite possibly was the most interesting and insightful things I've read in a long time, and once again it is related to my EIP topic!
I hated high school. I didn't do well and felt ashamed and stupid for it. There was so much pressure at my school to do well, college was a competition. Most of the times that I tried really hard, or put extra effort into school work, it wasn't for my own benefit, but for a grade. I never really thought too much about the grading system, but I knew that if I got 'good' grades I'd get into 'good' schools. I graduated from high school feeling like I learned close to nothing from my classes, or at least not remembering the things I had learned. Honestly, I can't tell you a thing I learned my freshman year of high school except how to put on make-up and kiss.
Providence Day (my high school), is such a great school filled with great teachers, but they really know how to stress a kid out with grades. Almost my entire teenage experienced revolved around the ideas of college and grades. What school do I want to go to? What kinds of grades do I need to get into that school? What are my grades right now? How can I make my grades better? All these questions were practically shoved down my throat from day one. I don't think I had a single teacher who didn't talk to me about college and my grades.
The pressure put on students, especially high school students, by grades is way too intense. After reading this article and really thinking about the grading system, I wonder how different my high school experience would have been if we hadn't had grades. Maybe I would actually remember what I learned in my classes freshman year.
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